While lung cancer is still the leading cause of cancer death, there have been significant advances in screening, diagnosis, and treatment that have led to increased survivorship. SCHEQ Founder, Dr. Eugene Manley, Jr., recently co-authored a publication in the Annals of Internal Medicine with members of the American Cancer Society (ACS) National Lung Cancer Roundtable titled “Embracing Compassion for People Facing Lung Cancer – The American Cancer Society National Lung Cancer Roundtable”. In this article they discuss that while treatments have changed and people are living longer, old-baked in stereotypes associated with stigma and nihilism prevent more people from being saved.
This manuscript highlights factors contributing to nihilism and fatalism, the effect of these feelings, and steps that can be taken by providers and the public to be more compassionate and empathetic. Nihilism is the believe that lung cancer is untreatable, while fatalism is the idea that death is inevitable.
“We proposed a 9 step multilevel approach that encourages clinicians to use more hopeful and positive messaging to alleviate patient fears,” said Dr. Manley. Some recommendations include normalizing tobacco discussions without using victim blaming language, having healthcare providers stay up to date on the latest advances in lung cancer, encouraging clinicians to order recommended lung cancer screening at the appropriate times, and prioritizing lung cancer research.
“This last point is important as lung cancer research receives less funding than breast, colon, and prostate, and this is not reflective of lung cancer incidence”, said Dr. Manley. The complete elimination of the $25 million of lung cancer funding from the Department of Defense budget has taken away another source of valuable income for those studying how to reduce the burden of lung cancer.
At SCHEQ we are working to provide information and resources to increase health literacy through creation of infographics that break down medical and cancer terminology. We also run the Lung Cancer Solutions Series with the Citizens for Radioactive Radon Reduction and the Just Breathe: SCHEQing on Lung Cancer Webinar series to increase lung cancer awareness. Lastly, Dr. Manley organizes an annual Lung Cancer Interventions Summit that will be held Oct 24-25 this year in Chicago that is focused on solutions that are removing barriers to care that brings together patients, researchers, clinicians, and hospital systems. Everyone is entitled to receive the same standard of care and this is what we week to achieve.
Manuscript: Studts JL, Carter-Bawa L, Feldman J et al., Annals of Internal Medicine. 2025 July : 178(7):1027-1028: doi: 10.7326/ANNALS-24-03167
